The use of product cushioning devices for shock sensitive products has been known for many years. Such devices are used for protecting the shock sensitive products in the event that they are dropped or mishandled during shipping. Some examples of product cushioning devices include tissue paper, shredded paper, bubble-pack and molded foamed polystyrene pellets.
As the requirement for better packaging and cushioning became more demanding, for example with the introduction to the market of complicated and expensive electronics devices such as hard drives, printed circuit boards, and the like, the requirement arose for more sophisticated and better shock absorbing cushioning devices.
This has given rise to the use of such products as honeycomb cardboard, and particularly foamed polystyrene, foamed polyurethane, foamed polypropylene, or foamed polyethylene.
Also known are packaging devices useful for shipping electronic devices such as hard drives in bulk from manufacturing to assembly points. Most US electronics companies now purchase both completed hardware and components from the Far East. Due to a number of reasons, these items are often shipped via air freight rather than ocean shipping. Thus, the overall shipping weight is a critical component of cost. Foam packaging has traditionally been the lowest weight material to package these items and hence offers the lowest additional shipping costs when shipped by air. Thermoformed cushioning has a number of inherent benefits which foam cannot offer, however, they do not typically offset the lower shipping costs obtained by using foam packaging materials. Foam materials include PP, PE, PU, PS, and mixes thereof. Thermoformed cushions are typically made from PE sheet.
None of the existing thermoformed cushions has been able to match foam in a comparison of weight to performance. Thermoformed cushions weigh too much to compete with foam when air shipping charges are considered. This is because foam by nature contains a high percentage of air, while thermoformed parts are made from solid plastic sheets. During drop testing these items are subjected to multiple impacts on multiple axes, and hence need enough supporting structure to withstand these forces.